Handmade Christmas Cards....

Here are a couple of Christmas cards I created for two of my adorable grandkids....I used my cuttlebug, ribbon, glitter, brads and some cute Christmas cutouts. Love it!!!

GINGERBREAD MAN CHRISTMAS WREATH

I'm back with a simple Christmas wreath idea, this is the wreath I made yesterday and hung above the fireplace. I took a large wire wreath form, wrapped green tree branch garland all around, added colorful mini lights, then filled it up with bright, shiny round colorful ornaments and fake Christmas candy and candy floral picks and then positioned a soft sculpture gingerbread man in the center. Added a florist bow to finish it off, and it's done! I love that it is so large and colorful. Very easy to make. Making your own is so much cheaper than buying a ready made one. Dig through your Christmas decorations boxes and use items you already have on hand, like extra ornaments and Christmas floral picks, etc. and let your imagination take over!

Give-away by Becky Conley

Check out this awesome give-a-way by Becky Conley!!

MY 2ND CHANCE: A BLOG GIVE-A-WAY!

Location:MY BLOG: http://beckyconley.blogspot.com/

Time:5:30PM Thursday, December 2nd

POTPOURRI PIE (faux)

I really enjoy making unique holiday decorations and this is one that I love making and giving as gifts to my friends and family to enjoy throughout the festive season.
It is a pie.....a fake pie that looks and smells real!
I use a glass or ceramic pie dish, that they can use later for actual baking.
Here are supplies that you will need to make one for you to display or to give as a gift (this would make a wonderful Hostess gift):

1 ceramic or glass pie dish
1 package potpourri (vanilla, or cookie/pie scent)
12x12 square brown netting (or tulle)
2 12x12 pieces of light brown or tan felt
ground cinnamon
Low Melt Hot glue gun and glue sticks (use care when using hot glue)
pinking shears
regular scissors

Place the contents of the potpourri bag into the the glass pie dish. Remove the pieces of the potpourri that are too bulky or large (or break them up into smaller pieces). Hot glue the netting onto the pie dish over the potpourri by placing a dot of the hot glue on the rim of the dish every inch or so, using care not to touch the hot glue, press the netting in place, making sure the netting is taut as you make you way around, after the netting is glued down completely around the dish use scissors and trim off the excess netting that extends over the rim of the dish.
Use the pinking shears to cut felt into 10 strips, 12 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. Place 5 strips evenly spaced over the netting and place 5 strips in the opposite direction, weave them to create the lattice (refer to picture). Glue the strips down at the point where they meet the rim of the dish. After all the strips are glued down, trim the excess felt that extends over the rim.
Using the regular scissors cut about 5 or 6 strips of felt 12 inches long and about an inch wide.
Refer to the picture and start to hot glue the strips around the rim of the dish, one at a time, fluting as you go along to make it look like a fluted edge on the pie.
Once you have finished, sprinkle cinnamon all over the pie as you would for a real pie.
After that you will have a pretty realistic, wonderful smelling fake pie to place on your table or counter for a long lasting fall or Christmas decoration (or for anytime).

CAROUSEL HORSE APRON

Here's what you need:
1. Ready made apron, any color and size you wish
2. Glitter dimensional fabric paint (assorted colors)
3. Fusible webbing (follow manufacturers instructions)
4. Iron (dry iron no steam)

This is an apron I had fun embellishing not too long ago. The apron is from Michael's, just solid purple (my favorite color) and I wanted to do something special with it. In my fabric stash there was some fabric with these beautiful carousel horses printed on them. I ironed some fusible webbing on back of the fabric and then carefully cut out the three prettiest carousel horses. I ironed them onto the apron, and when they cooled off, I used the glitter dimensional fabric paint all around the entire outline of the carousel horses as well as the mane, tail, saddle and other areas on the horse. Then with the same glitter paint application I wrote words having to do with carnivals all over the apron. Let it dry overnight. I really liked the way it turned out. It's completely washable. Great for a kids craft, with adult supervision of course.

FLOWERS EVERYWHERE!

Whew, been really busy these last couple of days, I've been helping a very good friend of mine (a florist) prepare flowers for a big wedding for this weekend. This bride wanted lots and lots of beautiful flowers, which she got!


Beautiful Wedding Bouquet, she made with many white roses.
She used lots and lots of beautiful, wonderfully scented flowers! She is a very talented floral designer!

ALTERED BOOK....3D CHRISTMAS

Great Recycling Project!!

Do you remember making Christmas Trees out of Readers Digest publications, where you fold each page into itself twice then fold the bottom flap up? Well, here is a great twist on that craft, using a hardback book. Do NOT remove the hardback book cover, it is part of the project, the pages will remain attached to the book cover.
I took the hardback book, (with maybe 185 to 200 pages) and folded each page that same way (as mentioned above). Books with more pages than that will be too many and you will end up ripping pages out.   I then spray painted the inside flaps and the Christmas tree 'Hunter Green' and spray painted the entire outside cover with Matte Black. You can use a gold metallic marker to write anything you like on the outside cover. I wrote 'Merry Christmas'.

As you can see, it is only half a tree, still attached to the book cover.

Side view

Using gold metallic marker, write anything you like.

After folding and spray painting I waited for it to dry thoroughly, maybe 1 hour. I then took some Christmas scrapbooking papers, cut them to size and glued them down to the inside flaps using white glue. Then came the fun part! The embellishments!! You are only limited by your imagination...I recycled old Christmas cards by cutting out and using the graphics and the inside greeting, but you can use die cuts, photos, anything your heart desires!! Photographs would work perfect!! You may decorate the tree by gluing Christmas trinkets all over it. I used low-melt hot glue.This is a simple and wonderful craft you and your kids can make together. I think grandparents would love a gift like this from their grandkids especially if there are some photographs involved!!

BABY SHOWER fake cake (money tree)

Made another fake cake (money tree) for a baby shower this weekend. For "It's a girl", pink and white. It looked so cute with the Kewpie Doll cake topper, got that at Hobby Lobby.
I love creating and making things for baby showers!!
This cake is 25 inches tall from the base to the top of the Kewpie doll's head and 41 inches around the larger cake part (bottom layer).

View of cake top. Slot for the cards to be dropped into.

Embellished Journal

I embellished the cover on this journal for the daughter of a friend of mine. Gave it to her for her birthday, she loved it I am happy to say. I used textured papers, rubber stamps, dimensional objects, beads and colorful fibers. Personalized it with a metal star tag with the initial of her first name. I think I will start making more for Christmas gifts.

KNITTING A SCARF

I taught myself how to knit from reading instruction books. I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I have been working on a fluffy colorful scarf for one of my little grand daughters. I am using two strands of nubby and textured yarns together, giving it a very soft and textured feel. Can't hardly wait to finish it and send it off to her.

HOT, HOT SALSA!

Darling hubby whipped up a batch of really, really hot salsa and my tongue is numb from one little itty bitty taste! I'm no stranger to hot salsa, but this is TOXIC HOT!!!
He used about 25 serrano peppers, garlic, red wine vinegar, spices and some other stuff. Whoa mama!!! Nothing to buffer the serrano peppers!
He poured it into an (almost) empty Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey bottle (cute) and I made a label for it on my PC.
Hope it doesn't instantaneously combust in the fridge.

BIRTHDAY "MONEY TREE" FAKE CAKE

Adding a picture of another "money tree fake cake" I created for a large birthday party being held this weekend.
It's only two layers this time with the slot for the birthday cards in the center of the top layer. I love the ribbon with the stars and swirlies, very colorful! I added some glittery metallic stars garland over the ribbon giving it some glitz. The topper is made with a square piece of styrofoam, wrapped it up with the same ribbon, placed some crinkle paper on it then inserted some birthday picks and some metallic frills. I was very happy with the end result.

This is a close-up of the cake topper.

MONEY TREE (fake) CAKE

For any party that needs a money tree....well, instead of a tree, why not make a fake cake! Decorate it to match the party theme and the guests can drop their (money filled) cards into a slot on top of the cake where they safely stay until you are ready to remove the contents. It looks so much like a real cake and will look really pretty on the gift table.I made this one for my niece for her "Quinceanera" this upcoming weekend.
I used hat boxes that I had purchased at my local craft store. If you are interested in making one, you can find the instructions in my October 2009 blog post.

Here is the cake in action at the Quinceanera.


This is the before picture, I used Taping Compound (from hardware store) for the frosting. It's in powder form and when mixed with water it looks just like real frosting and spreads on just like the real thing too and it dries rock hard, at which point you can brush paint it or airbrush it. I simply gave it one coat of white Gesso.
Here is the top view of the cake, before and after.

JOURNAL COVER

This is a gift journal that I made for a friend of mine. I used glittered felt, metal letters, fabric fibers and other embellishments. I think she'll like it.

QUINCENERA CENTERPIECES part 2

This second picture is the finished project. So much fun to make! 20 made, one for each table.
As you can see I designed it so that the yellow tulle looks like a delicate cloud on which she is standing. These pieces are meant to be 'take home' memento's for guests.

QUINCENERA CENTERPIECES

I've been working on some centerpieces for a Quincenera for my niece. Her celebration is next month (July). One thing for sure is that a lot of hot glue is used! It's really fun to make these. Here is a before picture where you can see most of the materials I used, which can be bought at any craft store or a floral supply place. I made 20, one for each table.

Zebras

My sister-in-law, Olga, decorates Reception Halls, Ballrooms, churches and such for special events such as weddings and Quinceanera's and other special celebrations and she was working on a Quinceanera that had a theme of Zebra stripes along with the color Magenta. She had 4 flat carousel horse shaped wood cutout blanks that she asked me to paint like Zebras. I did just that and see how beautifully she created the backdrop set for the Quinceanera and her escort, flanked by 2 of the painted Zebras. That ballroom looked so beautiful.....pictures just don't do it justice.She did an outstanding, beautiful job.

Wooden Zebra blank before painting stripes.

HOME MADE DRESS FORM part 3

Yay!!! Here is my finished homemade dress form!!!!!
I think it looks pretty good even if I do say so myself. I dressed it up in the bustier I dyed and decked it out with some vintage jewelry. So, I guess I don't have to buy a dress form after all......just make it myself!

HOMEMADE DRESS FORM part 2

Here is the 2nd step of my attempt at creating a homemade dress form. I used strips of newspaper and a white glue/water mix (papier mache). Two layers of that, letting it dry in between. The next step is to paint it with Kilz (a primer) then paint, then decoupage then the fun part, alter and/or embellish it!! I'm really having fun with this.
I placed the form onto a lazy-susan to make it easier to rotate to apply the paper strips on it, however, when it was bone dry the form stuck to the lazy-susan and my hubby had to help me pull it free without damage to the form. It was a really a huge help though, rotating the form made it so much easier for the even layering of the papier mache.

HOMEMADE DRESS FORM

I have been looking locally for a dress form to buy, just the torso, and have been having no luck at all finding one for sale. Every single shoppe I've inquired at has informed me that they do not sell their mannequins! There are many on line but are a little pricey and there's the shipping and handling to consider. So, I decided to make one using duct tape and lots of wadded up newspaper. It was a little harder than I thought, but kept at it till I was more or less happy with the shape. Next step, cut strips of newspaper to make papier mache to wrap it and after a couple of layers of that comes the painting and then the fun part.....embellishing with all kinds of lovely lace and things....I am anxious to finish it!! More pictures will be posted soon!

Mom's vintage jewelry

I love looking at my late mother's old jewelry....I remember as a little girl, I would sneak into her room and get into her jewelry boxes and play with all those lovely, twinkling pieces of amazing colorful sparkle. I think that is where my love of sparkly, glittery things began.
These are a few of my mother's many pieces of jewelry...a long strand of soft yellow beads and an owl pendant.
She really liked owl pendants and broaches. She would wear the long strands of beads and tie a knot in the middle like the picture shows. She loved wearing gloves on formal occasions, this black glove is among many she had in a cedar chest.

4th of July door wreath

It's never too early to start working on Summer projects!
Here's a really nice festive wreath you can make for the 4th of July!
It's a straw wreath that's covered in red, white and blue bows, just make a bunch of florist bows, attach them to the wreath with wire or floral picks, position the colored bows to resemble the American flag. You can add a small flag and glittered stars and sprigs of metallic embellishments. Very easy to make and it looks great on the front door.

NATIONAL CRAFTING MONTH GIVEAWAY!

CraftTestDummies.com is giving away a chance of winning a craft give-away package of awesome goodies including a Polymer Clay necklace made by Lisa Pavelka! Just for mentioning their blog and putting their link in your blog and leaving a comment on theirs! This is really worth checking out!!!!! The contest will close Monday 3/15 around noon EST and the winner will be announced by 4:00PM EST.
Here is the link:

http://www.crafttestdummies.com/commenttary/national-crafting-month-giveaway-2/

Hurry, hurry, hurry!!!!

ST. PATRICK'S DAY March 17

St. Patrick's Day is on Wednesday, March 17!!!
Here is a cute idea for a scrapbook page featuring my little granddaughter when she was only 4 months old!!! She is 3 years old now.
I used a light green cardstock background with darker green polka dots, some stickers, sparkly rhinestones and charms, and of course the main star.....Our own adorable little "Lucky Charm" Mia!!
I can literally spend all day long scrapbooking!!!

Wishing you all a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!!!

MARCH IS NATIONAL CRAFT MONTH!!!

March is National Craft Month! So, everybody join in and craft your little hearts out! Those of you who have always thought about creating a little something all your own but never have....by all means run to your nearest craft store and go wild!!!
On your mark......get ready......set.......GO!!!!!!

Decoupaged Chefs

I love to decoupage, I do it a lot. I like to use Mod Podge from Plaid (gloss luster) it's a glue and sealer. Here is a project I finished recently, it's a wooden pedestal I created from two pieces of shaped and finished wood that I bought at Michaels, I glued them together and painted. Had lots of fun painting it with a whimsical flair. I then cut out the chefs from wall paper trim and decoupaged it onto the top of my pedestal. Very easy. I have a chef theme in my kitchen so it fits right in!

Wall Photos

This is my is my idea of displaying family photographs. I am not one to have pictures all over the house, so I decided to display pictures on one wall. This are of my 2 granddaughters. I had my hubby frame a large part of a hallway wall and I painted within the frame, then I bought cute picture frames and placed them all within the larger frame. I call it my "Wall of Babies".
Next I will have my hubby do the same on another wall down the same hallway with pictures of our grandson!! Can't leave him out!!! I am very happy with how it has turned out.

PUPPIES!!

This is Dixie...she is one of three born. Isn't she adorable?! I will take pictures of the others later. She was born Jan. 21. Her mom is a white Siberian Husky and the dad is.....well.....a cross between a Terrier and German Shepherd.